Tambralinga

Tambralinga Tāmbraliṅga
c. 2nd century CE–1277
Tambralinga at their largest extent in 1244 after the Jaffna conquest
Capital	Nakhon Si Thammarat (on the Malay Peninsula)
Common languages	Old Malay, Mon, Sanskrit, Old Khmer
Religion	Hinduism, Buddhism
Government	Monarchy
King
• 1230–1262	Chandrabhanu
• 1263–1277	Savakanmaindan
History
• First mentioned in the Mahaniddesa	c. 2nd century CE
• Tambralinga conquered Lavo	927
• First mentioned in medieval Chinese sources	970
• Vassal State of the Srivijaya Empire	775–969
• Late Independent	970–1277
• Tambralinga conquered the Angkor	1003
• Cholas attacked Tambralinga	1025
• Tambralinga invaded Sri Lanka	1247
• Fall of Tambralinga	1277
• Refounded and became Nakhon Si Thammarat Kingdom	1278
Preceded by Succeeded by Srivijaya Pan Pan Nakhon Si Thammarat
Today part of	Thailand, Malaysia

Political entities in Peninsular Siam in early first millennium.

Tambralinga was an Indianised kingdom located on the Malay Peninsula (in modern-day Southern Thailand), existing at least from the 2nd to 13th centuries CE. It possibly was under the influence of Srivijaya for some time, but later became independent from it or were generally allies rather than conqueror and vassal. The name had been forgotten until scholars recognized Tambralinga as Nakhon Si Thammarat (Nagara Sri Dharmaraja). In Sanskrit and Prakrit, tām(b)ra means "copper", "copper-coloured" or "red" and linga means "symbol" or "creation", typically representing the divine energy of Shiva.

Tambralinga first sent an embassy to China under the Song dynasty in 1001. In the 12th century it may or may not have been under the suzerainty of the Burmese Pagan Kingdom and a kingdom of Sri Lanka. At its height in the mid-13th century, under King Chandrabhanu, Tambralinga was independent, regrouping and consolidating its power and even invading Sri Lanka. By the end of the 13th century, Tambralinga was recorded in Siamese history as Nakhon Si Thammarat, under the suzerainty of the Tai Sukhothai Kingdom.

Location

In his 13th-century work Zhu Fan Zhi, Chinese historian Zhao Rugua mentions the state Danmaling (Tan-ma-ling, 單馬令), describing it as a vassal of Srivijaya. Whether Danmaling can be identified with Tambralinga is dubious; sinologist Roderich Ptak proposes instead to locate it in the Tembeling region of Pahang. In contrast, the Sung shih gives an account of Tambralinga under the name of Tan-mei-liu, and says Tambralinga seems to have been a dependency of the Khmer Empire during all the reigns of Jayavarman VII (r.1181–1218).

An indigenous source of Tambralinga history is an inscription dating to 1183, written in Old Khmer, engraved on the base of a bronze Buddha statue found at Wat Hua Wiang in Chaiya District, Surat Thani Province. It gives an impression of the political situation of Tambralinga in the late-twelfth century. Another important source is a Sanskrit inscription ascribed to King Chandrabhanu of Tambralinga, dated 1230. It gives the king the epithet "Śrī Dharmarāja", which is an evidence for the identification of Tambralinga with Nakhon Si Thammarat (Nagara Śrī Dharmarāja in Sanskrit).

History

Early coastal polities: 5th century BCE – 5th century CE

Present-peninsular Thailand has long been considered an important area in social interaction as the gateway between the South China Sea and the India Ocean since the protohistoric period (c. 500 BCE–500 CE). Hermann Kulke (1990) suggests that complex pre-Indianized political entities in present-day peninsular Thailand existed before the first millennium CE and developed to the centralized polities around the mid-first millennium CE through the Indianization, by adopting Indic ideologies to extent the power as well as institutionalizing god-king statuses and dynamic traditions. Tambralinga was one of the significant centralized polities in the area that was mentioned in the India literature in the 2nd century CE. Previous scholars assume that Tambralingawas situated near modern Nakhon Si Thammarat or Ligor, based on text given in the inscription No. 28 found in Phra Maha That temple at the center of modern Nakhon Si Thammarat, engraved with Pallava scripts in Sanskrit language dated to the 5th century CE.

However, based on Chinese chronicles and ignored local inscriptions, some academics are inclined to believe that the beginning of Tambralinga as an autonomous polity dates to the 10th or 11th century instead, and before that date, it was overshadowed by the northern neighbor Pan Pan centered at the area around the Bay of Bandon in present-day Thailand's Surat Thani province.

The region was under the domination first of Funan and then of Chenla from the beginning of the 3rd century until it was conquered by Srivijaya in the latter part of the 8th.

Early mandalas: 5th – 10th centuries CE

The Chinese Songhuiyaogao chronicle mentions a country named Danliumei (Tan-liu-mei), stating many details during the period from 970 to 1070. It gives the impression that the kingdom was an independent state at that time, sending embassies to the court of China under the Song dynasty in 1001, 1016 and 1070. Danliumei is assumed to be a Chinese rendering of Tambralinga, the location of that state however is not precisely described. The chronicle of Ma Duanlin and the Songshi, mention similarly named states, Zhoumeiliu (Chou-mei-liu) and Danmeiliu (Tan-liu-mei) respectively, that are also reported to have sent their first mission to China in 1001, which makes it likely that they refer to the same state.

In this era, Tambralinga consisted of five main mandalas located on the bank of Khlong Tha Khwai, Khlong Tha Chieo – Tha Thon, Khlong Tha Lat, Maying River, and the largest one on the Haad Sai Keao dune, which was speculated to be the center of Tambralinga. Each of these mandalas formed by several communities in the surrounding area with the shrine of the most sacred site be the center and were connected with other mandalas by waterways and land paths. Vaishnavism was the prominent belief system unlike Dvaravati in central Thailand and Korat plateau where Hinayana Buddhism was dominant. The kings of Tambralinga were institutionalized as Siva-king but the king's power was probably shared by administrative subordinates and his kinship groups.

The region began receiving the immigrants of the Mon people around the 7th century. According to the legend of Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phraya Sri Thammasokaraj or Norabadi (พญาธรรมาโศกราช; พญานรบดี) from the Mon's Hanthawaddy, together with his younger brother named Dharanont (ธรนนท์), brought their relatives and 30,000 soldiers, along with two Monks Phra Phutthakhamphien (พระพุทธคัมเภียร) and Phra Phutthasakon (พระพุทธสาคร), moved south to settle in Khao Chawa Prab (เขาชวาปราบ) in present-day Krabi Province and later relocated to establish Nakhon Si Thammarat.

Golden age: 10th – mid 13th centuries

North expansion: 10th – 11th centuries

During the 10th–11th centuries, after gaining independence from Srivijaya by the liberation of King Sujita, Tambralinga was very strong politically and economically since it sent several missions to the Chinese court and even supported the troops to conquer the Lavo Kingdom as well as seizing the throne of the Angkor, two of the great mandalas in that period.

The origin of Sujita (Jivakas) remains unclear. Cœdès interprets the term “Jivakas” to mean Javanese (Javaka), indicating the king’s lineage as a native Javanese-Malay descended from the Srivijaya dynasty centered on Java. Meanwhile, Pierre Dupont argues that Jivakas was likely of Angkorian descent, or at least his wife must have been an Angkor princess. Dupont additionally comments that to avoid the loss of Angkorian influences over Lavo in the 925–927 Tambralinga–Lavo–Haripuñjaya wars, Sujita moved the troops north to occupy the Lavo before it was taken by the Mon's Haripuñjaya. However, Dupont's theory is rebutted by an expert in Srivijaya Studies, Pratum Chumphengphan, who defines that the wars happened before the Angkorians exercised political power to the Menam Valley. Therefore, the conflict between “Lavo–Haripuñjaya” at that time was not yet a fight between the “Angkorian and Mon,” but rather a struggle for power between “Mon of Dvaravati in the central region and the northern region, who were relatives.

Buddhism dominant: 11th–13th centuries

After the Sujita dynasty's losses in the war against the Chola empire in 1026, Tambralinga was revived by Padmavamsa (ปัทมวงศ์), a noble clan from the north (the exact location is still disputed, either from Lavo or Inthapat Nakhon (possibly Yaśodharapura) or Hanthawaddy). The influx of people and monks from Sri Lanka was recorded, which made Buddhism the dominant belief in the kingdom.

Thai academic Chanchirayuwat Ratchanee proposes that after losing the war to the Chola Empire in 1026, the center of power in the eastern Siam peninsular was shifted from Chaiya to Nakhon Si Thammarat (Ligor) in 1077, according to the information given to the Chinese court by the diplomat sent in 1168. The previous king's son was enthroned as the new ruler. Gordon Luce speculates that the region was possibly controlled by the Pagan Kingdom from 1060 to 1200, as recorded in the Dhammarajaka inscription (Pl. I 19, 1198 C.E.), which gives the southern limits of the kingdom to Takwā (Takua Pa), Salankre (Junk Ceylon?, Phuket) and two other places hardly legible, ending with a city with the suffix nakuiw' (nagara). The conflict between Kyanzittha's grandson and Ceylon's Parakramabahu I to have concerned rights of passage over the Isthmus of Kra was recorded in 1164. This quarrel would continue and be the cause of the invasion of Sri Lanka in 1247 by Chandrabhanu, whose lineage was believed to have moved from the north.

The relationships between Tambralinga and the Tai leaders in the north of the Kra Isthmus was speculated to have begun during the reign of Chandrabhanu I, which was expected to be one of the reasons that Srivijaya lost influence over Tambralinga.

In 1244, King Chandrabhanu invaded Sri Lanka, adopting the regnal name 'Srīdḥarmarāja' and installing himself as the king of Jaffna. This era ended with the losses of Tambralinga in the 1247–1270 Tambralinga–Sri Lanka Wars. Several local legends said the Padmavamsa clan ended due to the plague.

Decline: late 13th century

The Buddhist stupa Chedi Phrae Boromadhatu built by Chandrabhanu of the Padmavamsa lineage

After Chandrabhanu II (Sri Thammasokaraj III) died in the battle in Sri Lanka, his son became the successor and was crowned as Sri Thammasokaraj IV (ศรีธรรมาโศกราชที่ 4). During his reign, the kingdom faced several circumstances, including the invasion of Singhasari's king Kertanagara from 1268–69 and the plague in 1270, which led to the decline of Tambralinga. Sri Thammasokaraj IV died with no heirs in 1272, marking the end of the Padmavamsa clan.

After that, Phanomwang (พระพนมวัง), a prince in Phetchaburi–Ayodhya clan, with his wife Sadieng Thong (สะเดียงทอง) and son Sri Racha (เจ้าศรีราชา), were assigned by the Phetchaburi's king to revived Nakhon Si Thammarat. This led to the formation of the Sri Thammasokaraj clan and the expansion of the Tai's influence to the south of the Kra Isthmus. Even the enthronement was patrilineal succession but an appointment from the Ayodhya was needed. According to the Ramkhamhaeng stele of 1283 (or 1292), Tambralinga which was recognized as Nakhon Si Thammarat became the southernmost tributary of Sukhothai.

In 1365 Majapahit Kingdom of Java recognized Nakorn Sri Dharmaraja as Dharmanagari written in Nagarakretagama. Despite its rapid rise to prominence in the 13th century, that is, by the following century Danmaling, or Tambralinga, the former member state of Sanfoshih – Javaka, had become a part of Siam (Ayutthaya Kingdom).

Warfares

925–927 Tambralinga–Lavo–Haripuñjaya wars

In the early 10th century, battles between two Mon's mandalas, Lavo Kingdom and Haripuñjaya, happened several times. According to the O Smach Inscription, after two years of the enthronement, King Rathasatkara or Trapaka (Thai: อัตราสตกะราช/ตราพกะ) of Haripuñjaya moved south to attack the Lavo Kingdom. Lavo king, King Uchitthaka Chakkawat or Ucchitta Emperor (อุฉิฎฐกะจักรวรรดิ/อุจฉิตตจักรพรรดิ), then moved northward to defend. However, the war between these two sister states spread to the southern kingdom of Siridhammana (Tambralinga), the king of Siridhammana, Jivaka or Suchitra (พระเจ้าชีวก/พระเจ้าสุชิตราช), took the advantage to occupy Lavo. Due to losing Lavo, both Mon's kings rallied up north to occupy Haripuñjaya, but King Rathasatkara eventually lost the city to Lavo's king. After failing to retake Haripuñjaya, King Rathasatkara moved south to settle in Phraek Si Racha (present-day in Sankhaburi district). The battle was also mentioned in several chronicles such as the Jinakalamali and Cāmadevivaṃsa.

After Jivaka took Lavo's capital, Lavapür (ลวปุระ), he appointed his son, Kampoch or Kambojaraja (กัมโพช), as a new ruler and enthroned the ex-Lavo queen as his consort. No evidence mentions that he either resided in Lavo or went back to rule Siridhammana. Three years later, King Kampoch attacked Haripuñjaya but lost. He then attempted to seize another northern city, Nakaburi (นาคบุรี), but also failed. Several battles between Haripuñjaya and Lavo happened since then. Kampoch was married to a Khmer princess who had fled an Angkorian dynastic bloodbath.

Later in 960, Lavapür was annexed by Siamese from Ayodhya, who also shared a political relation with Tambralinga kingdom. Kampoch possibly fled to the Ankor, then back to sack Lavapür in 1002, and eventually merged Lavo into the Ankorian Empire in 1022 after claiming the Angkor and enthroned as Suryavarman I.

1002–1010 Tambralinga–Ankorian–Lavo Wars

Cœdès suggests that Sujita, who was the king of Tambralinga, won over Udayadityavarman I of the Angkor in 1003 and enthroned as Jayavirahvarman. This led to a nine-year Angkorian civil war in which Suryavarman I of Lavo won the battle and became the successor of Jayavirahvarman in 1010. However, Achille Dauphin-Meunier proposes that Jayavirahvarman was the rightful successor and brother of Udayadityavarman I.

Suryavarman I was believed to be Kambojaraja, a son of Sujita and an Angkorian princess. He was appointed the new ruler of Lavo Kingdom after it was taken over by his father in the 925–927 Tambralinga–Lavo–Haripuñjaya wars. Some academics cite Suryavarman I was instead a Khmer opponent who evicted Jayavirahvarman out of the Angkor.

1025–1026 Tambralinga/Srivijiya–Ankorian/Chola Wars

Map of the Chola empire after Rajendra I's South-east Asian campaign.

Further information: South-East Asia campaign of Rajendra I and Chola invasion of Srivijaya

After Kambojaraja from Lavo overthrew former Tambralinga prince, Jayavirahvarman (Sujita?), who had taken over the Angkor in 1002. He was enthroned as the Angkor's Suryavarman I and had requested aid from Emperor Rajendra Chola I of the Chola dynasty against Tambralinga. After learning of Suryavarman's alliance with Rajendra Chola, the Tambralinga kingdom requested aid from the Srivijaya king, Sangrama Vijayatunggavarman. This eventually led to the Chola Empire coming into conflict with Srivijaya. The conflict ended with a victory for the Chola and heavy losses for Tambralinga and Srivijaya with the capture of Sangrama Vijayatunggavarman in the Chola raid in 1025.

After the fall of Srivijava, the Cholas continued a series of raids and conquests against parts of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula for the next 20 years. The expedition of Rajendra Chola I had such a lasting impression on the Malay people of the period that his name is even mentioned (as Raja Chulan) in the Malay Annals. However, the Chola Empire did not establish its direct rule over South-East Asia though they might have levied a periodic tribute.

1247–1270 Tambralinga–Sri Lanka Wars

Further information: Jaffna Kingdom and Malay invasions of Sri Lanka

According to the inscription No. 24 found at Hua-wieng temple in Chaiya near Nakhon Si Thammarat, the ruler of Tambralinga named Chandrabhanu Sridhamaraja was the king of Padmavamsa (Lotus dynasty). He began to reign in 1230, he had the Phra Borommathat (chedi in Nakhon Si Thammarat, from Sanskrit dhatu - element, component, or relic + garbha - storehouse or repository) reparation and celebration in the same year. Chandrabhanu Sridhamaraja brought Tambralinga to the pinnacle of its power in the mid-13th century. From the Sri Lankan and Tamil materials, records, and sources, Chandrabhanu was a Savakan king from Tambralinga who had invaded Sri Lanka in 1247. His navy launched an assault on the southern part of the island but was defeated by the Sri Lankan king.

However Chandrabhanu was able to establish an independent regime in the north of the island over the Jaffna kingdom, but in 1258 he was attacked and subjugated by the Tamil Emperor Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan. He was compelled to pay a tribute to the Pandyan dynasty of precious jewels and elephants. In 1262 Chandrabhanu launched another attack on the south of the island, his army strengthened this time by the addition of Tamil and Sinhalese forces, only to be defeated when Pandya sided with the Sri Lankan side; this time Jatarvarman Sundara Pandyan's brother Jatavarman Veera Pandyan intervened and Chandrabhanu himself was killed in the fighting. Chandrabhanu's son Savakanmaindan inherited the throne and submitted to Veera Pandyan's rule, received rewards and retained control over the northern kingdom. His regime too had disappeared following Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I's ascension to the Pandyan empire's throne and another invasion of the island by the army of the Pandyan dynasty in the late 1270s. Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I installed his minister in charge of the invasion, Kulasekara Cinkaiariyan, an Aryachakravarti as the new king of Jaffna.

In at least two senses, the rapid expansion of Tambralinga is exceptional in the history of Southeast Asia. In the first place, Candrabhanu's invasion of Sri Lanka and occupation of the Jaffna kingdom marks the only time that a Southeast Asian power has launched an overseas military expedition beyond the immediate Southeast Asian region. In the second place, in the historiography of Southeast Asia, southern Thailand has generally played a secondary role to that of places like Java, Sumatra, the Malacca Strait region (Srivijaya in the seventh~eighth century, Melaka in the 15th century), Cambodia, Champa, Vietnam, and Burma. Tambralinga's sudden appearance on centre-stage in the 13th century was thus highly unusual.

List of rulers

Early mandalas era: 5th – 11th centuries CE

Information regards Tambralinga's king during this era is scattered and largely based on local legends. Except for Sujita who was mentioned in some chronicles. This era ended with heavy losses for Tambralinga in the 1025–1026 Tambralinga/Srivijiya–Ankorian/Chola Wars.

Rulers		Reign	Note
Romanized name	Thai name
Rulers before the reign of Sujita are still unknown.
Sujita/Vararāja/Sīvaka/To-hsi-chi	พระเยาวรราช/ชีวกราช/สุชิตราช/สุรชิตราช/	970?–1003	Father of Kambojaraja (probably Suryavarman I of the Angkor; r.1006–1050) Probably Jayavirahvarman who ruled the Angkor from 1003 to 1006, suggested by George Cœdès.
Unknown		1004–1025	The dynasty ended after losing in the wars against the Chola Empire.
The Malay peninsular faced 20 years of being raided by the Chola Empire as the post-match of the 1025–1026 Tambralinga/Srivijiya–Ankorian/Chola Wars.

Padmavamsa clan: 12th – mid 13th centuries

Rulers		Reign	Note	Siamese era
Romanized name	Thai name
From 1060–1200, Tambralinga was probably under the control of the Pagan Kingdom.
Unknown		1077–?	Son of the previous.	Regent of Lavo (r.1069–1082)
Unknown		?–1157?		Sai Nam Peung of Ayodhya (r.1111–1165)
Sri Thammasokaraj I (Norabadi)	ศรีธรรมาโศกราชที่ 1/พญานรบดี	1157?–1181/82	Possibly from Lavo or Inthapat Nakhon (อินทปัตถ์นคร) or Hanthawaddy or the local dynasty. Sent tribute to China in 1168. 1179–80 territory wars with Phichaithep Chiang Saen. (Father of Ayodhya's king Uthong I)	Dhammikaraja (r.1165–1205) of Ayodhya
Sri Thammasokaraj II (formerly Chandrabhanu)	ศรีธรรมาโศกราชที่ 2/ จันทรภาณุที่ 1	1181/82–1227		Uthong I (r.1205–1253) of Ayodhya
Sri Thammasokaraj III, known as Chandrabhanu II (formerly Phongsasura)	ศรีธรรมาโศกราชที่ 3/จันทรภาณุที่ 2/พงษาสุระ	1227 or 1244–1262	Territory expanded to Sri Lanka	Chaisen (r.1253–1289) of Ayodhya
Savakanmaindan/ Sri Thammasokaraj IV?	ศรีธรรมาโศกราชที่ 4	1263–1272 or 1277	The last ruler of the Padmavamsa clan of Tambralinga
End of Padmavamsa clan

Transitional era: late 13th century

Rulers		Reign	Note	Siamese era
Romanized name	Thai name
Sri Saiyanarong/ Sai Songkhram?	ศรีไสยณรงค์	1274–1298?	From Hanthawaddy. Possibly either brother or son of Ram Khamhaeng?.	Ram Khamhaeng of Sukhothai (r.1279–1298)
After the reign of Ram Khamhaeng, Sukhothai Kingdom was possibly split into three independent kingdoms, including Sukhothai, Nakhon Si Thammarat, and Suphannaphum Kingdom
Dharmakasat?	ธรรมกษัตริย์	1298?–?	Younger brother of the previous. The dynasty ended due to the plague.	Loe Thai of Sukhothai (r.1298–1323)
The seat was vacant after the reign of Dharmakasat.
Phanomwang	พนมวัง	1342–?	Son of Phetchaburi's king Phanom Thale Sri (พนมทะเลศรี)	Ramathibodi I (Uthong) of Ayodhya/ Ayutthaya (r.1344–1369)
Sri Thammasokaraj (formerly Sri Racha)	ศรีธรรมาโศกราช/ศรีราชา		Son of the previous.
Oo	อู		Co-rulers; Oo was a grandson of the previous, while Yoo was the younger brother.
Yoo	อยู่
Sri Chomrat/Ram	ศรีจอมรัตน์/ราม		Son of Oo, Last ruler from the Sri Thammasokaraj clan.
Sri Maharaja (formerly Intara)	ศรีมหาราชา/อินทารา		From the local clan, Sri Maharaja, seat at Lan Saka. Became the ruler of Nakhon Si Thammarat after married Ueay, a daughter of Sri Chomrat.
Sri Thanu/Sri Tun/Sri Maharaja II	ศรีทนู/ศรีทูน		Son of the previous.
End of the Sri Maharaja clan, the next rulers were directly appointed by Ayodhya.

Heritage and restoration

Northern gate of the old walled town. The only gate that still exists.

The city chronicle mentions a fortification when the town was refounded in 1278. The Ram Khamhaeng inscription of 1283 lists Nakhon Si Thammarat as one of the tributary kingdoms of Sukhothai. In the Old Javanese Desawarnana document of 1365, the Majapahit kingdom also recognised Nakhon Si Thammarat as belonging to Siam. In the Palatinate Law of King Trailok dated 1468, Nakhon Si Thammarat was listed as one of eight great cities (Phraya maha nakhon) belonging to the Ayutthaya Kingdom. During the reign of King Naresuan (r. 1590–1605) it became a first class province (Mueang Ek).

Restorations were recorded at the time of King Ramesuan (1388–1395), as well as King Narai (1656–1688) of Ayutthaya. The latter one was supported by the French engineer M. de la Mare.

The walls of the town spread 456 meters from east to west, and 2,238 meters north to south, thus enclosing an area of about one square kilometre. The northern wall had only one gate, called Pratu Chai Nuea or Pratu Chai Sak, while the southern wall also had only one gate. To the east there were three gates, which connected the town with the sea. To the west were five gates. Today only the northern gate still exists, together with a short stretch of the northern city wall.

See also

• Category:Monarchs of Tambralinga
• Naksat cities
• Greater India
• History of Indian influence on Southeast Asia

Further reading

• Sumio Fukami (2004). "The Long 13th Century of Tambralinga: From Javaka to Siam". The Memoirs of the Research Department of the Toyo Bunko. 62: 45–79.
• Michel Jacq-Hergoualc'h (2002). "The Situation in the Malay Peninsula in the 10th and 11th Centuries" and "The Commercial Boom in the Malay Peninsula in the 12th and 13th Centuries". The Malay Peninsula: Crossroads of the Maritime Silk-Road (100 BC–1300 AD). Brill. pp. 339–442.
• O. W. Wolters (1958). "Tāmbraliṅga". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 21 (3): 587–607. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00060195. S2CID 246638498.; also printed in Vladimir Braginsky, ed. (2002). Classical Civilisations of South East Asia. Routledge Curzon. pp. 84–105.